1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pervasive computing devices, and more particularly to information appliances that can be networked with a variety of other information appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information appliances, that is, devices that incorporate digital processors to collect, store, and disseminate information, including information appliances known as personal digital assistants (PDAs), are becoming ubiquitous. Many information appliances can be networked locally. For example, the televisions, computer-controlled kitchen appliances, and security system of a house might all be networked to a central computer, and furthermore the information appliances of the local network might be remotely controllable by means of a PDA that communicates with the local network via the Internet or other system, such as the network referred to as "TSpaces" disclosed in IBM's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/013,768, filed Jan. 27, 1998 and Ser. No. 09/013,505, also filed Jan. 27, 1998, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As recognized by the present invention, if a wide variety of information appliances are to share data, the data must be rendered in a form that all appliances can recognize. Furthermore, the present invention recognizes that a "window" into such an electronic world can be conveniently provided by a PDA, owing to the compactness, easy portability, data storage, and program execution capability of PDAs. Indeed, the use of hand held information appliances such as PDAs can be expected to continue to grow as the operating systems for the devices, e.g., Palm Operating System, Windows CE, etc., continue to improve, extending the capabilities of the appliances. Thus, it will be appreciated that information appliances such as PDAs can execute many useful software application programs to control or otherwise interact with other information devices.
As but one example of how a PDA might be useful as a "window" into the electronic world, a PDA can potentially replace a television-specific remote control and other appliance-specific remote controls with a single, universal control, i.e., the PDA. As understood by the present invention, however, a central impediment to providing such a universal information appliance is the inability to establish and change graphic user interfaces (GUI) on the fly. Using the above example to illustrate, the GUI required to execute the application of controlling a television set is very different from the GUI required to execute the application of controlling a garage door opener, which in turn requires a different GUI than transmitting data to a network, and so on. Thus, a universal information appliance must be capable of presenting application-specific GUIs if it is to function effectively as an all-purpose "window" to the electronic world.
Moreover, for a universal information appliance to optimize its user-friendliness, the present invention recognizes the desirability that a GUI be tailored to a particular user who might have a physical impediment or other special need. Unfortunately, present GUIs are static. Consequently, they cannot be dynamically changed or tailored for particular users. Accordingly, the present invention recognizes the desirability of easily and quickly tailoring the GUI of an application.